Macron, Putin agree to find peaceful solution to Ukraine crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation on the Ukraine crisis on Sunday and agreed to find a diplomatic solution.

The agreement between the two heads of state was announced by Macron’s office, which said that the French President and his Russian counterpart had agreed to “give priority to a diplomatic solution to the current crisis and to do everything possible to achieve it.”

In the coming days, the foreign ministers of Russia and France will meet to try and find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis.

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Macron’s office further said that French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov would also try and organise a summit to enable talks at the highest level between Russia, Ukraine, and other associated parties to establish a new security order in Europe.

The trilateral talks will include Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and will seek to “obtain a commitment from all parties to a ceasefire on the line of contact,” as per the Elysee statement.

The news about the agreement between the two leaders comes escalating tensions in Ukraine.

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Russia reportedly has over 100,000 troops deployed around Ukraine, and while Moscow has claimed that it is withdrawing its forces, the West has accused Russia of duplicity.

Western countries have also accused Russia of carrying out false flag operations and spearheading a disinformation campaign in Ukraine, and have repeatedly warned that an invasion could take place any time.

Russia, for its part, has accused the West of creating hysteria through misinformation, and maintains that it is looking for security guarantees and has no intentions of invading Ukraine.